Brief rant: Fatbikes are not mudbikes

I just randomly saw this video of someone dressed as a clown riding a fatbike. Not a very exciting video, really, and the clown schtick is, well, lame, but it’s fine as far as it goes.

But here’s what really drove me nuts: clearly, the snow on the trail is basically slush. You can see mud in many of the shots and while there’s no direct evidence in the video, it’s likely they rode on/through a lot of mud during the ride/shoot.

Guys, gals: riding in mud is bad for the trail. It’s bad for your drivetrain. And it’s really bad when a land manager goes for a hike and sees a bunch of big ruts left from bikes riding through the mud. Being on a fatbike does not earn you a free pass to shred the mud.

I see the same thing on our locals trails here in SLC – people seem to think that the presence of snow ANYWHERE on the trail means it’s ok to ride their fatbike on said trail. Well, it’s not -just like it’s not ok to ride your regular mountain bike there. If the ground is frozen, or the whole trail is snow – anything goes. If it’s 55 degrees and slush/mud/sun – go for a road ride and wait until it gets snowier OR drier and you can ride whatever bike you like best.

Riding in mud and trashing the trail is… for clowns. Don’t be a clown.